The night is falling, the lanterns of Daxing Palace are starting to come on, and the city is also lit with thousands of lights. Looking south from the palace, it looks like a clear sky dotted with stars.
Under Yang An's escort, Yang Ji carried lanterns one after another and walked out of Guangyang Gate. After turning east and walking for a while, Yang An suddenly lowered his voice and said: "Your Majesty, be careful of General Yuwen."
Yang Ji was stunned for a moment, and then saw that the other servant was far away, so he asked in a low voice: "Uncle An, what's wrong with Yuwenshu?"
Yang An said worriedly: "In order to fight this comeback battle, he has to be cleaner than honest officials and better than capable ministers. But for his own merit, he only wants to track down corrupt officials and eliminate the old and weak. As for how to deal with the old and weak, , he doesn't care; if this continues, something big will happen sooner or later. If possible, the king advises the saint not to let Yu Wenshu mess around, otherwise, the court will be the one who suffers and is damaged after all."
Yang Ji said: "Uncle An, don't worry. We have just discussed this matter. The saint has decided to purge the remaining Eighth Army. This purge only involves illegal generals and will not rush to eliminate the old and weak. At the same time, let the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Civil Affairs arrange the joint Relocate the old and weak who have been eliminated.”
"That's good!" Yang An breathed a sigh of relief, and then said solemnly: "The second thing is that General Yuwen recommended Wei Lieutenant Shaoqing Li Min to concurrently serve as General Fuping Army. Didn't Li Min just come back from Liangzhou?"
The implication is that Li Min is Yang Lihua's son-in-law and has been an official in Liangzhou for nearly three years. Isn't Li Min from Yang Ji? Why was Yu Wenshu dragged away? At the same time, he was also reminding Yang Ji that Li Min had "betrayed" and should be careful in the future.
"Thank you, Uncle An, for reminding me!" Yang Ji recognized Yang An's kindness, smiled gratefully, and said "quite disappointedly": "That boy, I originally wanted to train him well, but everyone has his own ambitions and can't force it. "
In fact, Li Min's performance on the night he returned to Beijing was already obvious to Yang Ji. However, Yang An was kindly reminding him that of course he couldn't say anything like "I knew it a long time ago". If he really wanted to say that, then He, Yang Ji, is an imbecile.
After bidding farewell to Yang An, Yang Ji walked towards Yanxi Gate in the east. When he arrived at the intersection of Changle Gate and Changchun Gate, he saw his bodyguards waiting with flags. Just as he was about to go forward to join them, he saw the Ministry of War. The servant Duan Wenzhen stood next to a war horse, with several guards holding lanterns behind him.
When Duan Wenzhen saw Yang Ji coming with a lantern, he quickly stepped forward and saluted: "See you, Your Majesty."
"Shilang Duan is so polite!" Yang Ji returned the courtesy and asked in surprise: "It's already dark, why are you still here?"
Duan Wenzhen said with a smile: "I was planning to go home, but unexpectedly I saw the king's flag, so I went up to ask and found out that the king was still in the palace, so I waited here."
Yang Ji asked: "Is something wrong?"
Duan Wenzhen nodded and bowed to the ground: "There is indeed something wrong. I hope the king can help me."
Yang Ji looked at Duan Wenzhen dumbfounded. He had just become the Minister of Military Affairs and had not even issued a formal edict. Duan Wenzhen came to block people. He said helplessly: "What's the matter? Just tell me."
"Here!" Duan Wenzhen stood up straight and said, "Your Majesty, the five armies of Wannian, Chang'an, Fuping, Tongzhou, and Huazhou have initially reduced their number of old and weak soldiers by more than 30,000, and there will be more to come."
Yang Ji pondered for a long time and asked, "Are you asking how to deal with the elderly and the weak?"
"No!" Duan Wenzhen shook his head and said: "The placement of the elderly and the weak is actually very simple. It can be easily completed as long as the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of War cooperate. What I want to say is that the current elimination method is very unreasonable."
"What's unreasonable?"
"Now General Yuwen eliminates soldiers by age, and all soldiers over forty-five years old are treated as old and weak. I think this is very unreasonable." Without waiting for Yang When asked about it, Duan Wenzhen explained his reason: "Your Majesty, people's bodies are different. Some people are only twenty years old, but their strength is not as strong as that of an old man who is sixty or seventy years old; while some veterans who are over fifty years old have different physiques." Although their strength is not as good as before, they have experienced hundreds of battles and have actual combat experience and adaptability that young soldiers do not have. This kind of actual combat experience and adaptability are sometimes more important than pure strength. At critical moments, they can save an army. army."
"The departure of a large number of so-called old and weak people has reduced the army's combat effectiveness by at least 30%. The entry of a large number of young generals who have not experienced war has reduced the army's combat effectiveness by another 10% or 20%. If a war suddenly breaks out, and if they are allowed to rush into battle, these young generals will Can you do the job?"
Duan Wenzhen looked at Yang Ji and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have also led soldiers and fought on the border for nearly twenty years. I know the importance of veterans, so for these young generals who have not experienced war, We deeply doubt our combat capability and adaptability.”
"Then what do you think?" Yang Ji nodded silently. Duan Wenzhen was not unfounded. The miserable situation of "Big Brother" in the early days of World War II was the best example, wasn't it?
Duan Wenzhen sighed: "Your Majesty, I retain some veterans and generals."
Yang Ji smiled and said: "A saint has led troops and fought in battles, so he doesn't know this. Just go and tell him. Isn't that enough?"
Duan Wenzhen said with joy and annoyance: "The Saint knew it and agreed to retain some of the veterans who voluntarily stayed, but the Saint planned to organize the Wannian Army and the Chang'an Army into two elites. The 'general' of the army is the saint himself, and from now on the Ministry of War will rule on behalf of the saint. The morale, combat effectiveness, military discipline, daily training and other matters of these two armies will be all handled by the Ministry of War."
Yang Ji smiled and said, "This is a good thing for the Ministry of War!"
It sounds like the Ministry of War is a high-level department, as if all the troops in the country are under the control and command of the Ministry of War; but in fact, the Ministry of War is mainly responsible for the army's logistics, military discipline, placement of retired soldiers and other chores, unless the emperor asks someone to do so. Officials from the Ministry of War should be in command, otherwise, the Ministry of War would not be able to mobilize or manage even a single soldier.
Yang Guang now clearly intends to cultivate the Wannian Army and Chang'an Army into the "Emperor's Army", and the Ministry of War is responsible for daily operations. In name, the Ministry of War has no power, but the emperor has many plans and is extremely busy, and he can't manage the "Emperor's Army" flawlessly. "Military" affairs, so in fact, these two armies ultimately belong to the Ministry of War.
The officials of the Ministry of War can "train" with these two armies. At least there will be no joke that the officials of the Ministry of War do not know soldiers, cannot lead troops, and dare not fight.
It can be said that Yang Guang's decision not only achieved the emperor's purpose of "personally taking charge of the army", but also served the purpose of tempering the officials of the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War also gained real power.
Kill multiple birds with one stone.
Duan Wenzhen smiled: "A good thing is a good thing, but the saint has put forward a very strict requirement."
Yang Ji was surprised: "What's the request?"
"The saint means that after the military reform, the new Wannian Army and Chang'an Army can fight immediately, and win battles like the king. If there is no battle to fight, then fight the other twelve armies including the Binzhou Army. We also have to win." Duan Wenzhen smiled bitterly and said: "To be honest, we feel very difficult now, and since the king has done it, he must have a good solution."
Yang Ji said: "My method is actually very simple: first, after eliminating the unqualified generals, the veterans will be promoted to the fifth commander and fire chief. The fire chief will be promoted to captain and deputy captain, and the captain will be promoted to brigade commander and brigade commander. If you are promoted to captain, as long as the lower-level generals are all veterans who are good at fighting, then during the war, the teams, brigades, regiments, and thousands-man teams will not be panicked. Secondly, the teaching staff should be formed by veterans who are old and frail and can speak well. The battalion, with it as the backbone, conducts tactical training for each army, teaches combat experience, and teaches survival rules and skills on the battlefield."
"Third, there are the 'old and weak' who have been eliminated. Some old and weak have been in the army since they were young. They know nothing except fighting. As long as this type of old and weak can still travel long distances, they They are all willing to stay, but they can no longer withstand a long battle, so what should I do? I transferred them to the supply camp. During the war, they are responsible for escorting grain and grass supplies. If the enemy suddenly attacks, they are not like civilians. They dispersed like that, but quickly formed a battle formation to fight the enemy."
Hearing this, Duan Wenzhen said in a calm voice: "Your Majesty, I understand the first two methods. But those veterans who are unwilling to leave the army will have to be supported by the Liangzhou government during the non-war period. I am afraid that the rations they consume daily, as well as each Month’s military pay is not a small amount, right?”
"That's true!" Yang Ji nodded and said, "But if we don't raise auxiliary troops, we can only recruit civilian men who have not experienced war during wartime. For local states and counties, it will be a nuisance to the people's livelihood and to the families of the civilian men." For the army, although it has an extra food transport team, it is a big trouble and problem because they have not been trained intensively."
Duan Wenzhen was silent for a long time and then said with cupped hands: "Your Majesty's arrangement for the veterans is excellent, and I agree with it very much, but to put it bluntly: it's fine in the short term, but as time goes by, I'm afraid neither the imperial court nor our Ministry of War will recognize these veterans. Military pay, what will your Majesty do when the time comes?"
"This is what I did..." Yang Ji said with a smile: "The first is to let their older veterans work in the fields and live a self-sufficient life; the second is to let the younger people form an engineering team to undertake the construction of dikes, weirs, and dams. Bridges, roads and other projects.”
This is the retreat arranged by Yang Ji for the "old and weak" in Liangzhou. These veterans basically have no skills to make money. If they adopt a laissez-faire attitude, they will easily become a destabilizing factor in society.
After he transformed these people into construction engineering teams, they were still under the jurisdiction of the Bingcao Veterans Administration, and at the same time, he contracted some projects to them. In this way, local officials were not required to do excessive corvee work, and the veterans could benefit. During wartime, they can also serve as heavy transport troops and calmly deal with all harsh environments and all invading enemies.
As for the financial pressure caused by "supporting" the elderly and the weak, it simply does not exist.
When he told these one by one, Duan Wenzhen was amazed and said sincerely: "Your Majesty has great foresight and I admire him for his humble position."
After saying that, Duan Wenzhen raised his hand again: "Your Majesty, I have gained a lot from my humble position, but I still want to go to Liangzhou to have a look. Is that okay?"
Yang Ji nodded and said: "Welcome."
"Then it's settled!" Duan Wenzhen smiled happily and said: "After this busy period is over, I will take some officials from the Ministry of War to Liangzhou to gain experience."
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